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On This Day: Rainier III, later husband of American actress Grace Kelly, crowned Prince of Monaco
In this Pathé newsreel, filmed just prior to their April 1956 wedding, the almost impossibly glamorous actress and her royal fiancé attend a ball in New York
May 9, 1949: Prince Rainier III of Monaco was enthroned on this day in 1949 – beginning a reign in which he married a film star and turned his tiny principality into a mini-Manhattan.
The playboy prince, whose marriage to Grace Kelly brought both glamour and tragedy to the throne, was Europe’s longest serving monarch until his death in 2005.
The 1982 car crash death of Princess Grace reignited fears of a Curse of Grimaldi, which is said to have haunted the royal family since the 13th century.
Yet Rainier’s 26-year marriage was highly successful to the fortunes of Monaco, with the glamorous superstar helping to put the home to just 30,000 people on the map.
In this Pathé newsreel, filmed just prior to their April 1956 wedding, the almost impossibly glamorous actress and her royal fiancé attend a ball in New York.
Dozens of other stars joined the prince and his bride to be, who at the time was widely acclaimed as the most beautiful woman in the world.
During the couple’s marriage, Princess Grace helped Rainier secure the viability of Monaco by expanding its economy away from relying on the casinos and Grand Prix.
In 1962, he ended a tax haven row with France by ruling that French citizens could not avoid paying income tax by becoming residents of the principality.
But as no similar agreement has been made with any other country, the micro-sized state in the heart of the Riviera has become home to thousands of other tax exiles.
An impressive mesh of concrete and glass towers now crowd the hilly principality, which also opened itself up to banks, manufacturing and regular tourism.
[Related: On This Day: Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier of Monaco]
Rainier and Princess Grace had three children: Caroline, Stephanie and Albert II, the current ruler of Monaco.
The actress also suffered two miscarriages, which were said to have been brought on by stress over her husband’s insistence that she give up on her Hollywood career.
In 1962, she was forced to turn down an offer of $1million –worth $7.6million in today’s money - from director Alfred Hitchcock, who before she married had employed her in Rear Window, Dial M For Murder and To Catch A Thief.
